Lemon Basil Granita and a Food Blogging Class

posted on August 25, 2014 by Bianca Garcia

I don’t know about you guys but I’m not ready to let go of summer yet. I’m not ready to start busting out pumpkin and butternut squash recipes. I’m not ready to start my morning runs while it’s still dark out, and speaking of dark, I’m not ready to dye my hair darker and get rid of my blonde highlights, either. I want to drag out the happiest season of the year, and with the help of this Lemon Basil Granita, I think I could. (PS – it’s going into my mouth, not into my hair.)

See? FRESH and LIGHT. It’s like Mother Nature herself came up with the idea.

(In reality, it’s Dan from The Food in My Beard who gave me the exact idea… and he’s not exactly a tree-hugging goddess.)

The only other things we need are water, some lemon zest, a little sugar, and a pinch of salt. And some patience, too, because you’ll need to place this in the freezer and check every 45 minutes or so to move the ice crystals around – that’s how you make a granita. Place the mixture in the freezer in a flat shallow container, freeze until the edges turn icy, scrape and stir the icy portions into the middle, and repeat. Here’s another good granita flavor: Strawberries and Cream.

If you’re in the Boston area and are interested in learning more about food blogging basics, I’d love to see you there. You can find more details here.

I can’t promise you though that we’ll only be talking about light and healthy things during class, but I can promise you that this Lemon Basil Granita is delicious. Really bright and tart, with the perfect amount of sweetness.

I’m not going to mess with this healthy dessert by suggesting that you guys drizzle a little cucumber vodka on top. Or St-Germain. Or serve it with a sweet riesling. I’m not going to do that at all.

Lemon Basil Granita

Ingredients

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a flat baking pan or any other freezer-safe container.

Place in freezer and freeze until icy around edges, about 30 minutes. Using a fork, stir icy portions into middle of pan. Place back in freezer, stirring frozen edges into center every 30-45 minutes, for about 1 1/2 hours.

Scrape the granita into flaky crystals using a fork. Transfer into serving glasses and serve immediately. This can be made a day or two ahead, just keep it frozen.

Your class sounds like fun, Bianca. Good luck and have fun!
And this granita – love it. This summer went by too quick and I don’t want to let go either. Time to sit back and enjoy as many icy treats as possible!!

That is so cool that you are teaching a food blogging class! I’m not ready for summer to end yet either but I could use a little relief from the hot weather. And this lemon basil granita looks like the perfect refreshing treat!

CONGRATS on your upcoming teaching gig! How exciting for you!
As for this granita – its like a spoon of sunshine indeed – am gonna make it when we are in the middle of winter and pretend it’s summer! :)

This looks wonderful and so refreshing! I am not ready to get rid of summer either! It is already so chilly here! It rains here alll winter and I am a huge chicken for raining in the rain (never learned the ‘charm’ of it that some runners claim there is!)